MEDIA LAW UPDATE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KABUL 000913 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL AF PHUM SUBJECT: MEDIA LAW UPDATE REF: A. KABUL 895 ¶B. 08 KABUL 2478 ¶C. 08 KABUL 1193 ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY. The 2007 media law remains inactive due to the government's refusal to publish the law in the official legal gazette. Ambassador Holbrooke, the Charge, Embassy officials and journalists' groups have pressed Karzai to move the legislation forward. Karzai has told Holbrooke he would promulgate the law once the Supreme Court reviews certain articles for constitutionality (ref A). Minister of Information and Culture Khoram, however, continues to criticize the law for its supposed Western influence. Parliament's Lower House maintains its veto override last year should have automatically brought the law into force (ref B). The law's overall strengthening of media freedoms is an important step in demonstrating a level playing field for all presidential candidates in this summer's election. End Summary. Executive-Legislative Deadlock -------------- ¶2. (SBU) In an April 9 meeting, the Charge urged Karzai to promulgate the media law and enact other measures that would demonstrate to the political opposition, civil society, and international community a real accomplishment toward a free, fair, and transparent election. Karzai's fundamental objection to the law is based on division of powers between the executive and legislative branches. Karzai believes those government positions specifically listed in Article 64 (Cabinet ministers, NDS chief, etc.) require parliamentary approval, and no others. He has asked Supreme Court Chief Justice Azimi to review a provision in the disputed law, requiring the Lower House's confirmation of nominees to head Radio and Television of Afghanistan (RTA). Charge will meet with Azimi on April 15 to urge a speedy review to settle the constitutional dispute. ¶3. (SBU) Lower House MPs, led by Speaker Qanooni, maintain they have a right to write and pass legislation that would add positions, beyond those enumerated in Article 64, which would require confirmation by the legislative branch. Qanooni has told EmbOffs that parliamentary confirmation of the RTA chief will help ensure some independence for state-run media from the president's political agenda. Information Ministry: A Different Agenda -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Information and Culture Minister Khoram opposes the law on additional grounds. He has charged that Western governments played an improper role in drafting the legislation. Khoram leans far to the right on cultural issues and has long expressed doubts over the role of a free press in a democracy. MPs have called Khoram before Parliament on several occasions to explain his ministry's refusal to enact the law's provisions. Earlier this year, Khoram claimed the government's copy of the law "was lost or never received from Parliament" after the Lower House overrode Karzai's veto in September. Parliamentary staff eventually tracked down paperwork showing proper transmittal of the document to the Cabinet last month, prompting MPs this week to call on Khoram to testify again in the near future. ¶5. (SBU) MP Mir Ahmad Joyenda (Kabul, Hazara),a member of the Third Line faction that supports the media law and other reformist initiatives, said Khoram is driving Karzai's opposition to the bill and is using blatant delaying tactics to stall the law's entry into force. He and Third Line leader MP Shukria Barakzai (Kabul, Pashtun) have told PolOff they will call for an impeachment vote if Khoram does not move to enact the law soon. Civil Society: "Mostly Good" Law Guarantees Independence of Media -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Article 14 of the new law declares that RTA is public media and thus belongs to the Afghan nation and is administered by the executive branch. Article 44 further states that a National Radio Television Commission shall protect the independence, impartiality, and professional reputation of RTA. Leaders of journalists' networks say the law puts a distance between state media and government control for political purposes. Moreover, the law builds on the Constitution's guarantees for a free press. ¶7. (SBU) Journalists tell us the law's promulgation would be an encouraging development and morale boost for Afghan reporters, who face regular security threats from insurgent groups. Saad Mohseni, director of independent Tolo TV's Moby KABUL 00000913 002 OF 002 Media Group, said Karzai was postponing action on the law in order to maintain control of state media. Opposition politicians believe the law will help "level the playing field" for all presidential candidates by providing more air time for all candidates on state media. Although RTA finishes a distant third or fourth in most of Afghanistan's major media markets, it often faces no competition in more remote regions. State-run newspapers also pick up many RTA stories. ¶8. (SBU) Some journalists and civil society groups worry that the government could use the law's Article 45, which prohibits publication of "material contrary to the holy religion of Islam (or) affects the stability (and) national unity of the country," to restrict media freedoms and criticism of the government. During the drafting and parliamentary debate phases, however, most reformist MPs and civil society groups calculated that the law's overall improvements for the media were worth the price of that article's language. MP Joyenda believes Parliament can revisit and amend those provisions after the law goes into force. Background on Law's Evolution -------------- ¶9. (SBU) Civil society groups worked closely with Parliament throughout 2006-07 to revise the existing media law decree. Parliament passed the law in late 2007. Karzai vetoed it in December 2007. Parliamentary boycotts and walkouts over Hazara-Kuchi tensions delayed action for much of spring 2008 (ref C). In a surprise move, the Lower House called for a quick vote to override Karzai's veto in September 2008. Karzai, caught off guard, failed to mobilize enough supporters to block the vote (the Palace later claimed that Parliament did not have enough MPs present to constitute a quorum, though eyewitness accounts generally support the Lower House position that it had a quorum.) ¶10. (SBU) Article 100 of the Constitution states that a bill passed by the Lower House over the president's veto "shall be promulgated once endorsed by the president." Karzai interprets that clause to give him the right to review the law before publishing it in the gazette, while most MPs believe a veto override renders the president's "endorsement" automatic. RICCIARDONE